Nick's Changes
by M2S
Summary: The new shaggy Nick decides to make his move. Who will it be? Now Complete 3 fluffy chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

A/N: This was inspired by a scene in "Pirates of the Third Reich" though I don't believe there is much in the way of spoilers here. That said, I will say spoilers for "Grave Danger" and "Pirates of the Third Reich".

Summary: The new, shaggier Nick decides to make a move on someone. This is just a teaser chapter.

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Nick Stokes was changing, before his own eyes. He hadn't actively set out to change. It just seemed to be happening. When he had flipped the quarter that fateful night, he had been one man. When he had come out of the hospital, he had been another. And now, looking in the mirror, he could feel that something was different.

He was a little harder.

He was a little more serious at his work, but he felt a little more devil-may-care about his private life. Carpe diem, maybe. Seize the day – try a new hairstyle. Wear your shirt untucked every now and then. Listen to new rock rather than classic country. Let Greg recommend a stylist instead of a barber. Let Greg recommend anything other than coffee.

So was this new Nick into letting a certain someone pass him by, day by day without making a play?

Warrick had made a comment at a recent case.

"So, are you into delayed gratification?" Warrick had asked. He had been talking about a warrant. They could smell the decomp, but there was a "Corpse Flower" in the shed that explained the odor. Was a warrantless search justifiable?

"Hell no. That's Grissom," Nick had answered. Nick was a little less respectful of Gil these days, a little more confident in himself. But as Nick had said it, he knew that he meant more than just the warrant. There were some pretty important places in his life where Gil had delayed gratification. Did Nick want to be single, in his 50's with no one to share his life with? The answer was no.

That thought had been with him, on and off, since that day standing in the shed with Warrick. When he had said that, Warrick had given him a look. He knew him too well. Though they had continued to talk about warrants, once they were headed back to the lab in Warrick's ride, he had questioned Nick.

"So, if you're not into delayed gratification, why haven't you made any moves?" he had asked, smirking at Nick in the passenger's seat.

"What do you mean? Move on who?" Nick had said, looking genuinely confused.

"OK, if that's how you want to play it," Warrick answered, giving him a disappointed sigh. "But there's no time like the present."

"What, you're married now, so you're trying to live vicariously through me?" Nick countered, making Warrick scowl. Nick laughed at his friend, and they went on to other topics, but the thought stayed with him.

Why hadn't he made his move? What was keeping him from it? If the new Nick wasn't into delayed gratification, then hop to it.

"Today," Nick said to himself in the mirror and smiled. It was like his old smile, but different in some indiscernible way. Anyone else would have said that it just didn't feel quite the same; there was a subtle, dangerous quality to it. A cavalier attitude covered the fact the smile had been brushed with death in too many ways. Nick didn't consciously see the difference, but he felt the change in himself. He brushed his new, shaggier hair over to the side and wondered if he should get a trim. He would decide later. Maybe, like Samson, Nick's new attitude, his new strength, lay in the longer hair.

"Let's just hope I don't meet Delilah," he said to his reflection and smiled again.

He drove into work feeling excited. Making the decision to make a move, to ask a question, made him feel good. There was no apprehension or anxiety. He bounced into the lab, shooting the receptionist a smile that had gotten many a sorority girl giggly in his college days.

He joked with Warrick in the locker room and together they headed into the break room where Greg was chatting up Sara. He gave them both a grin. He was still smiling when Gris handed out assignments.

"Nick, Sara and Greg, I want you on a double homicide. Lucky Strike Motel - way off the strip. Nick, you take point," Gil had said, doing a slight double take at Nick's face. He wasn't smiling now, but there was something about the way his lips were braced that looked like Nick was holding a smile inside.

"I'll drive," Sara said.

"Shotgun," Greg said, and gave Nick a haughty look. Nick looked at him in surprise. "Sorry, Nick, but she makes me carsick when I sit in the backseat," he offered. Nick shrugged it off.

All he was thinking of was how he was going to make his move when there was a third wheel.

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A/N: So, who will it be, Greg or Sara? The next chapter may tell. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own them.

A/N: For anyone disappointed with the who at the end of the chapter, please see author's notes at the end.

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Evenings like this made Nick glad that the crew was back together. He had missed working with Sara so much when they were split, but what surprised him was how much he enjoyed working with Greg. He enjoyed sitting in the back seat of the Denali, his arms and legs stretched out, listening to Greg and Sara's back and forth banter. He didn't remember ever hearing Sara laugh so much. It wasn't like Sara was laughing like an idiot, but Greg's stream of conciousness verbage would be punctuated here and there by Sara's giggle, or by a comment like, "Greg, please" which would sound like she was offended, but then Nick would look at her face and she would be smiling from ear to ear. Greg, Nick realized, had been very good for Sara. He had a brief pang of jealousy. What if there were more to this than met the eye? Sara and Greg had been together a lot, and sometimes that led to something more. It wouldn't be the first or last time that co-workers became lovers.

But this new Nick blew the jealousy off. He would never steal a lover from one of his friends, but if they were being covert, he couldn't be expected to know. And if he were rebuffed, then he would deal with it, and go on. He had proved to himself one thing, at least – he was a survivor. And no broken heart was going to do him in if being buried alive couldn't.

He was sitting in the middle of the Denali's bench seat, and every time he looked up, he could see Sara's face. He looked up at her, caught her eye and gave her a wink and a big smile. She smiled back and gave him a look that was hard to read before returning her eyes to the road. Greg continued his unabated talk, but Nick knew that Sara was thinking along the same lines as he was; this was good, the three of them together. If Warrick were with them, it could have been even better, but with the task Nick had set himself, he really didn't need War's smirking, know-it-all presence.

They arrived at the Lucky Strike Motel, and Nick couldn't think of a worse dive. Not everybody in Vegas struck it rich, and though the Strip could be glamorous, the underside of Vegas was more like this little no-tell motel. A place where you could get pimped, get high and get by with no one to see or tell who you were.

And a good place to kill two people with no one to know better.

"This is where I would choose to leave two bodies. Whatcha bet we have no valid ID on the person who last rented the room?" Greg volunteered, echoing Nick's thoughts.

"You're probably right Greggo. That's why we have to _follow the evidence_," Nick said, throwing heavy emphasis on the last part. Sara gave him a withering look, and Greg snickered.

"Thanks, Gil," Sara said caustically, but her eyes were gentle. Nick smiled.

"Well, I am point on this, so I have to keep the young pup in line," Nick said, giving Greg a friendly nudge on the shoulder.

"You're way late on that," Greg said as the trio walked up to the taped off motel room. "Sara's always on top of that."

"I'm on top of a lot of things," Sara said quietly, looking archly at her companions. By this time they had come to the crime scene, and neither man could say anything in return because of the deputy at the door. Greg leaned in and whispered to Nick.

"Close your mouth, man. You'll let flies in like that, Papa Olaf always said."

"Did Papa Olaf ever get a girl like Sara to say something like that," Nick replied.

"Papa did a lot of things," Greg said, nodding his head up and down. Nick gave him a bemused look. They stepped under the crime scene tape to see Det. Curtis inside.

"Been waiting on you guys for a while," Sofia was saying, accusingly, to Sara, who was already inside.

"But I am so worth the wait," Nick offered as he came in the door. Sofia lightened up upon seeing Nick and Greg. She even smirked a little at Nick's comment.  
"Nick. Greg," she said as a greeting. But she and Sara weren't standing at an impasse for now, so Nick figured his ice breaker had worked. After Sofia gave them the details and walked out, Sara gave Nick a look.  
"Takes a lot of guts, flirting over a DB," she said. "Two DB's, point of fact. A guy I once knew told me that." Nick smiled, remembering the night he and Sara had met Hank the Skank, as Nick thought of him.

"Yeah, so I guess I've got a double load," Nick said, puffing up his chest. Sara twisted her lips. He knew that it meant she was trying not to smile.

"Um, are we going to start processing the scene, or are you two going to do this all night?" Greg asked, a little taken aback by Sara and Nick's interactions. Nick recognized it as envy.

"Oh, Greggo, you're not the only one that has ridden shotgun to Sara's driving," Nick said. "But, since you mentioned it, process away. You take the perimeter, and Sara and I will process inside."

As Greg walked out the door, Nick stopped him.

"Make sure the deputy is within eyesight at all times, Greg. When it gets to the point you are out of his line of sight, you come get me or Sara," Nick warned, his voice now deadly serious. Greg frowned a little.

"Of course, Nick."

Nick watched Greg go out the door and wondered if he had sounded as paranoid as he felt just then.

"If you want to go with him, I can start by myself. Or vice versa," Sara said. Nick turned to see her looking at him with concern. It was a look he had gotten from her a lot, though with Sara, it was always a nice type of concern. It wasn't pandering or condescending, and she always said it in a tone of voice that made him feel as if he were having the most normal reactions in the world. Which is what his counselor had told him, but Sara could do more with one look than the counselor seemed to be able to do with a host of sessions.

"It'll be quicker if two process inside," he said. She nodded her head in quick assent and they began to work, Nick fighting the urge to check on Greg's process.

Nick and Sara had always had an easy kind of rhythm when they worked. Nick was grateful that the work was keeping his mind occupied. Instead of wanting to run check on Greg every couple of minutes, it was every 10 minutes. Finally, after about an hour of processing, Sara stood up straight and stretched.

"Go check on him," she said in a tone that was on the edge of being exasperated.

"Am I that easy to read?" Nick asked.

"Yes," was Sara's resounding answer. "Actually, I would like to check on him too." She gave Nick a smile and they moved towards the motel room door.

"Rock, paper, scissors on who gets to help G?" Nick asked. Sara shook her head at his suggestion, but held her hand and fist out in preparation.

Nick came up with paper. Sara was waggling her fingers in a downward motion.

"Water," she said, smiling mischievously. "It erodes rock, rusts scissors, and dissolves paper. I win."

"That's not an option," Nick protested, but Sara just gave him a backwards glance and grin as she walked out into the night air to help Greg. "You cheat!" Nick said under his breath, but he smiled at how Sara could surprise him after working together so long.

The end of shift saw the trio still working at the crime scene, thought they were close to the end. They had taken only one break, and Nick could feel the fatigue weighing down on him. The three were riding back to the lab to log in evidence and finish their paperwork. The mood was more somber than at the beginning of shift; Greg's loggorhea had subsided and now the younger man was more subdued, though his and Sara's conversation was light hearted and even now, punctuated by Sara's smooth giggles. Nick found himself smiling, and he was thankful for that. The scene was brutal, and he knew that posting the body tomorrow would be grueling as well.

"Let's get a drink, after paperwork is finished," he suggested as they pulled into the parking lot. Nick could see Cath and Warrick walking together across the asphalt. He sometimes wondered how Warrick could reconcile his flirtatious nature with Catherine to his marriage to Tina. Nick pushed that thought aside. Whether Warrick flirted or not was really not his business, and furthermore, it was pulling his focus away from the task at hand: drinks with Sara and Greg.

"I could go for that, as long as we get something really good to eat, too," Greg said. They both turned to Sara expectantly.

"I guess. But you will both have to help with the paperwork," she warned. Then she smiled, and Nick saw the smile reflected in Greg's face. Once again, he wondered what might have been going on with the two.

Nick was having a good time. The restaurant was small, and more of a bar and grill than anything. Given it was Vegas, people all around were eating anything from pancakes to ribeyes.

Sara had picked it and it seemed like her - warm and eclectic, but the outside had belied the atmospheric inside. And of course, they seemed to have more vegetarian choices than normal.

Nick loved that the place had a jukebox instead of canned music. Greg had worn himself out by making a play list that would end up costing him ten bucks to cover. When Greg went to make his selections, Nick saw his chance.

"So, Sara, how are things these days?" he asked. Sara gave a little shrug of her shoulders.

"Good, I guess." She took a pull of her beer, but she was looking questioningly at Nick. It wasn't like they hadn't been working together this year.

"You seeing anybody?" he said, trying for casual. He thought he pulled it off, but Sara was smiling at him knowingly.

"Maybe," she said, with a wide smile that said she was.

"Serious, or casual?"

"Casual. We're just having fun," Sara said. She was now looking at him directly. "Why do you ask?" she said in a manner that made Nick's heart speed up a little.

"I was wondering if you would want to go out and have some fun with me," Nick said, coolly. Then he delivered his best smile. His smile widened at Sara's blushing cheeks and grin. She looked down at her beer.

"Why now?" she asked. "After all these years?"

"I'm tired of waiting for the right time," Nick said. He reached out and took her fingers in his hand. "I'm a little different these days. I'm tired of playing it safe with you. Let's go out. If it's too weird, we won't again," Nick said. When Sara looked up at him with her twisted lipped anti-smile, Nick's confidence surged. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," he finished.

At that moment, Greg's bebopping form came back into Nick's line of sight. He gave Sara's fingers a light squeeze, then picked up his beer.

"What's going on here? You two look like you're up to something," Greg asked suspiciously, his song momentarily forgotten. Nick almost laughed at Sara's response.

"We're just having fun," she said, looking at Nick and smiling a sweet smile.

Before long, it was time to settle up tabs. They still had to work tomorrow. When Nick and Sara both reached for the bill and their hands touch, Nick looked up and grinned. Sara's cheeks seemed to have pinked up. Funny how he kept having that effect on her.

He couldn't separate her from Greg as they were leaving, so he had picked up his cell to call her when he got a block from the restaurant. To his surprise, it rang. The caller ID showed Sara's name.

"Sara," he said as he answered the phone.

"Are you serious about going on a date?" she asked. He liked that her tone was confidant and on the verge of being challenging.

"As a heart attack, darlin'", Nick drawled. He smiled as he heard Sara snort derisively on the other end of the line. "In fact, when's your next night off?"

"I already have plans," Sara said and Nick frowned for a moment.

"Casual fun guy?" he asked. The old Nick would have been a little jealous, possibly crestfallen. Not tonight. "What about this?" he countered. "We'll meet for lunch the day after tomorrow; walk around some of the casino shops and come into work. No pressure. If we want to go out again after that, you can pencil me into your busy schedule."

"You make it sound so easy," Sara said. He could picture her smile on the other end of the line.

"Darlin, when it comes to you, I could make everything easy," he said, laying the accent on thickly. He was rewarded with the rich sound of Sara's laughter.

"See you at work, _darlin_," she returned. Nick smiled the rest of the way home.

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A/N: To all of you who voted G, I have an alternate version of this story in the works. Please look for it next week sometime. You could stick around and read the third chapter of this one if you wanted too. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own them

A/N: Final chapter. As promised, alternate version will be up next week for those who are interested.Thanks for all thereviews.

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They didn't work together the next night, though they had seen each other briefly in the locker room.

"We still on for tomorrow at lunch?" Nick had asked, striving to find just the right balance between "definitely interested" and "not too eager".

"Who gets to pick the menu?" Sara asked, as if the question would be a deal breaker.

"Darlin', you get the pick, though I already know what it going to be," he answered.

"Rosarita's," they said in unison. Nick laughed.

"You and your Poblano chiles," he said, shaking his head. "Some day we'll go home, and I'll take you to eat the best Tex Mex there is." He realized how it sounded, talking about the future like that, when he looked up and saw Sara's expression. Her emotions were mixed.

"You're getting a little ahead of yourself, aren't you?" she said softly. "We haven't even had our lunch yet."

"If you haven't noticed, Sara, I'm a cup's half full kind of guy," he replied, just as softly.

She stepped closer to him, and Nick could feel his pulse in his throat. Being close to Sara was one thing, but being closed in by her was another.

"I've noticed," was all she said. She then turned and walked away.

"I'll call you," he called behind her, wondering if his voice sounded as desperately in need of oxygen as he felt.

They met at the lab the next day in the early evening, and fussed until Sara finally acquiesced to letting Nick drive his vehicle and leaving hers. He smiled at her awkwardness in letting him open the passenger side door for her. She looked grumpy as she sat in the seat, and he shook his head.

"It's an official lunch date, Sara. I get to open doors for you, and I payand everything," he commented. She glared at him for a moment, but then smiled.

"I'm not used to it," she said.

"You mean casual-fun-guy doesn't open doors for you?" he asked, in mock horror, though it wasn't as mock as he would have liked for it to be. "He should be ashamed." That garnered a look of disapproval from her, so Nick shut the door and laughed. He promised himself that he wouldn't bring the other guy up again. He was cool and confidant, and that was the way he would stay. He figured he needed to play easy with Sara. No need to spook her within the first 20 minutes.

He cranked up the SUV and they headed for Rosarita's, a little Mexican restaurant the two had discovered several years before while on a case. It was perfect in that it was clean, relatively inexpensive, and had a menu that both Nick and Sara could agree on. Nick looked over and noticed that Sara had allowed a little more wave in her hair than normal.

"I like your hair that way. You look really nice," he said. She waswearing a pair of dark jeans and a shirt. The shirt was what Nick thought they called "bohemian" and looked flirtier than Sara's usual. The thin fabric gave a nice view of her silhoulette.

"I like your hair too," Sara said, smiling at his shaggier look.

"Yeah, it hasn't been this long since junior high," Nick said, unconsciously sweep his bangs over to the side some. "You said you like it?"

"Yeah, it's different. Makes you look a little more metro, I guess. It's better than..." then she stopped.

"You can say it." Nick said. Sara looked chagrinned. "The mustache, right?" Nick said. Sara smiled, then giggled.

"I like it better than the 'stache, yeah." She started giggling again. "I'm sorry."

"That's OK," Nick allowed grimly. "I know G's been calling it the 'porn-stache'," he said. Sara looked surprised, but burst into unladylike guffaws. Nick had to laugh as well.

The food at Rosarita's was good, as always. Sara even managed to eat her stuffed poblano peppers without getting any red sauce on her buttery yellow shirt. Nick had the forethought to wear a pair of dark jeans, since his leg is where the sauce always seemed to land.

They followed the quick lunch with walking through some of the shops of the casinos, looking at things neither could easily afford. Nick was surprised at how easy it was to switch from being friendly coworkers to a date. He was holding her hand, and she was letting him open doors. She even let him buy her a pair of earrings she had admired. Of course, first she had to make sure that the sale price was theprice, and even then, she managed to gain another 10 off. She was flirting and letting her body contact his – a quick caress of the back, their legs and hips grazing past each other as they window shopped. They had stopped to look at some sunglasses, both looking for super dark shades, eschewing the blue and yellow tinted lenses available.

Sara had placed a pair on Nick and he was looking in the mirror.

"No, these would have looked better with the short hair," she said, picking another pair up.

"I thought you said you liked the longer hair," Nick protested. Sara leaned in close and pulled the shades off his face. Nick was very aware of how close she was to him as she leaned over.

"I do like it. I'm- I'm getting used to the longer look," she said as she twirled a bit of longish hair at the side of Nick's neck. She was so close that Nick thought he could probably count the eyelashes she had. He had an urge to kiss her then, but he thought it might be too soon for a girl like Sara. She stepped back abruptly and sighed.

"What?" he asked wondering what had stopped the moment.

"I'm wondering why you haven't made a move," she said. "Maybe you aren't that interested in me."

"That's crazy. It's just that this is a first date, a lunch date, and I'm not the kind of guy to move too quickly," Nick said, wishing now he had kissed her just then. Sara stepped back up to him and talked lowly into his ear, her breath sending a shivering sensation down his spine.

"You've known me for what, six years? And now - now I think you are that kind of guy." She leaned back and looked into his eyes.

Nick kissed her then, hard and passionately. It wasn't deferential or questioning. It was a branding kiss, claiming Sara. One arm was holding her tightly against him and his other arm held her neck firmly. As the kiss ended, they stayed still for a moment, letting their heads rest against each other. Both were a little out of breath, as if winded by the intensity of the kiss. Nick opened his eyes, surprising Sara with the fire that burned in them. This was a very different Nick, indeed.

"You want the truth?" he asked, breathlessly. "I want you now, upstairs in a room in this hotel. Truth is, I would want you in the parking lot of this hotel in the back of my Denali. I want you. But I can wait."

"Why?" she asked. He kissed her again, a little gentler, but no less passionate.

"I can wait, because I think you're worth waiting for," he said.

"No. I meant, why would I want to wait?" Sara asked. She met his gaze and arched one eyebrow. "I can say I would prefer the hotel room, and we've got four hours until shift."

Nick's serious look broke into an eager grin. He took Sara's hand and they walked quickly into the hotel lobby. Sara beat him to the punch when it came to pulling out her credit card.

"This way, you have no doubts about my intentions," she said to Nick's unasked question.

They barely made it into the room before Sara was unbuttoning Nick's shirt. She pulled it off of him and pushed him down on the bed, watching him as she kicked off her sandals and pulled off her own shirt. Nick wasn't surprised that Sara liked to be in control. He was surprised at the lacy balconet bra.

"I, uh, didn't think to bring any protection," Nick said in between Sara's passionate kisses. He had just thought of it.

"That's OK. I did," was her answer. Nick figured that was the last step that plunged him head first into love. That or when she said, "I like to be on top."

They lay in the room, watching the night fall over the city. Nicky lay on his back, and Sara was laid against his chest, her fingers intertwining with his. He was lazily stroking her back, wondering at the fact that they were laying there together.

"I don't know about you, but this is the best lunch date I've had," Sara murmured. Nick started to say something, but she began kissing his neck, and all thought left his mind. He wouldn't have guessed that Sara was made for screwing. He had dreamed, but he hadn't guessed.

"You are made for this," Sara said. Nick chuckled.

"I was thinking the same thing about you," he said, and kissed the top of her head, inhaling the fragrance of her shampoo. "Maybe we're just made for each other." He thought Sara stiffened slightly at that, but there she was again, kissing across his chest. He closed his eyes and sighed. "We should do this again tomorrow," he said.

"It might get expensive," Sara laughed. She leaned up and stretched, grabbing her discarded bra and matching(!) panties. "I am going to jump into the shower before we have to head into work." She started towards the bathroom. "Care to join me?"

An hour later they were making their way back to his Denali. Nick couldn't believe that he was holding Sara's hand; his mind was still reeling, in a good way, from how the lunch date had gone. He halfway hoped that they wouldn't be working together on a case tonight. It would be too hard to concentrate on evidence of a crime when the evidence of Sara was still on him. Even now, he thought he could smell her shampoo on him.

"Nick?" Sara asked, breaking Nick out of his reverie. By this time they were driving to the lab. "We're not going to say anything about this, are we?"

"No. I don't kiss and tell," Nick said. "Besides, all the male lab techs would be so jealous that my samples would be on the bottom of everyone's list. Not to mention Greg." Sara rolled her eyes at his answer.

"Good," she said. "I like for my personal life to be, well, personal."

"Agreed," Nick said. "But I have one question." Sara's gave him a look as if to say, 'go ahead'. "When are we going out again?" He was encouraged by her smile.

"I have plans tomorrow, and you have to work, right?" she said. Nick nodded, trying to forget that her plans were with Casual-Fun-Guy. Once Nick might have demanded exclusivity, but Sara was a grown woman, and she was a woman who would not like being told what to do. Nick could deal with another man, for now. If this were meant to be, Sara would drop him on her own.

And that's when Nick knew he had really transformed. He wasn't so insecure as to force Sara's hand; he could wait this out and let her see him for who he was. He was confidant in himself. And if Sara wasn't the one, she was out there, somewhere.

He and Sara shared a brief kiss that only hinted at where they had been and hour ago. She looked furtively around the parking lot before kissing him again, this time a little less chaste. She then checked herself in the mirror on the back of the sun visor.

"You look beautiful," he told her. And it was true, down to every little line starting to creep up around her eyes and the gap between her teeth. He loved that she blushed, but didn't try to deny it.

"So are you," she said. Nick could feel the blush creeping up his neck and into his ears and face. "Today was new for me," Sara said. "I don't want you to think that I hop into bed with just anyone over a date."

"A lunch date," Nick reminded her, smiling. Sara glared at him.

"I'm trying to tell you that you're special, to me," Sara said. Nick responded by reaching over and taking her hand.

"Then I guess that's something we have in common," he said. They shared a smile for a moment, then exited the SUV.

Nick had been altered by the last year - enough to make a play for Sara, and to appreciate who she was. He could let her make the next move. He hoped that Casual-Fun-Guy would be out of Sara's life sooner rather than later, but he was willing to put himself out there and get hurt, because he knew he was strong enough to take it.

Nick knew his own strength, and he knew what he wanted. For the first time in his life, Nick was his own man, unworried about approval. It was a big change, a good change. As he watched Sara walk into the lab a step ahead of him, he decided it was a great change.

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A/N - I was afraid this wasn't a strong enough ending, but I wanted to leave it open for the imagination. Let me know what you think. 


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